Keeping you up to date with the latest CorkSport Mazdaspeed news!
Category: Customer Collaboration
CorkSport loves to use customers ideas and give them the credit for it through collaboration. One of these was the Mazdaspeed 3 camber plates which we worked with a customer to manufacture his idea and make it a reality.
With the release of our new Passenger Side Motor Mount for the Mazdaspeed 3, we were met with some interesting comments on some of the forums based mainly upon the somewhat controversial design we used. With that in mind, Austin and Joel grabbed a camera and a mic to set the story straight.
What happened was very interesting, the video (while crude) almost instantly set many fears aside and made quite a few customers out of disbelievers. In just a few hours they were able to address all the potential issues brought up on the forum. At CorkSport we often talk about unexpected successes so that we can learn from them. We have always taken pride in the fact that we listen to you and always ask what you feel is needed in the market and what we could do for you; but with this video we discovered how quickly and definitively we could let you know that we did address not only your needs, but also any fears you may have. If you have a question you would like addressed or a video you want to see, let us know by contacting us here:https://www.corksport.com/contact-us.html . At CorkSport, you can expect to see more videos putting our products and your concerns to the test, and then to rest.
Here at CorkSport we know you, the customer, are what really drives our business. We don’t just build parts we think you need, we build parts YOU ask for. We understand Mazdas and we love to innovate, but some of the best product ideas we’ve ever had, have come from our customers. We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure we stay involved with you and have a genuine interest in the parts that you want. We’ve set up a link on our website to help make it easier to get your great ideas to our great engineers. If you go to our site and scroll down to where it says “Collaboration” underneath it is a link that says “Request a Product”
We’ve worked hard to make sure we provide exciting products that live up to your expectations and who better to tell us what’s needed then the very people who get excited about it? In the past we’ve worked with our customers to decide everything from the colors we offer for our upcoming brake caliper kits to sending out test parts to customers with high horsepower to try and see if they can expose any weaknesses that we may not have seen.
As we ramp up for the race season we want to make sure your voice is heard and you get the best from us. Please feel free to add your suggestions online, email us or even pick up the phone and let us know what you think. We can’t wait to see what amazing things we can do together with you this year!
Help CorkSport help you!!! April 23rd, 2013CorkSport
The Mazdaspeed platform includes a large demographic. From drivers who just got their license to career engineers who personally help to understand the ecu coding.
Today, I will be answering some basic questions about ECU tuning. This will help to explain the benefits of tuning and sort out some jargon and acronyms used for some of the newer people to modding who may be interested in custom maps and tuning.
What is custom tuning/what does ECU remapping do?
Ecu remapping, a.k.a. tuning are terms used to describe the process of making changes to the instructions that a car’s brain (Engine Control Unit) follows.
Remapping / tuning alters the variables that control the way the car behaves under a variety of conditions, including startup, idle, part throttle and WOT (wide open throttle).
To “remap” a car, different platforms use different software to communicate and alter the directions the ecu follows in order to meet the tuner’s goals. The most dominant and reliable software for the Mazdaspeed platform is made by either COBB or Versatune.
Why would you want to tune your vehicle?
When Mazda engineers tuned the factory variables, they were concerned with many more goals than enthusiasts. The engineers at Mazda know that each of the Mazdaspeeds that leave their manufacturing plant will be used in a variety of weather conditions, under a variety of user demands, and must be repaired under warranty if parts prematurely fail. Mazda is also heavily concerned with emissions, gas mileage and tries to balance the stock map they create with performance and reliability.
The enthusiast usually sees performance as the most important goal, while weighting reliability, gas mileage and emissions much lower in terms of importance. If you want to maximize the performance of a car, especially a factory turbocharged vehicle, many “nannies” or electronic performance limitations need to be removed and overly conservative measures taken in a stock map can usually be maximized to make substantial gains in horsepower and torque.
Who should tune their vehicle?
This is an interesting question, because I think I share an opinion with many people familiar with Mazda’s stock mapping that both reliability and performance can be increased with a well thought out tune. In my opinion, if budget allows, anyone who owns a Mazdaspeed can benefit from a custom tune.
What gains can be expected?
While every car is different across the Mazdaspeed platform, in general, if the 93 octane gasoline in your area is of decent quality, a stock Mazdaspeed usually has about 240 hp / 260-280 tq at the wheels. On an OTS (off the shelf map), cars with an upgraded fuel pump and common modifications usually make roughly 270 hp / 300 tq at the wheels.
Custom tuned cars usually dyno in the area of 300 whp, 330-350 tq.
Custom tuned cars running e85 usually make 320-330 whp and 350-375 wtq.
What is the benefit to a custom tune vs. a chip or power programmer?
Much like Mazda engineers, creators of maps included on custom programmers such as hypertech etc. are responsible for making maps that will run well in all weather conditions, at all altitudes and with many different combinations of hard part modifications. A custom tune on the other hand can take full advantage of every condition and every modification that the car will be subject to, as well as allow the owner of the tune to communicate with the tuner his wants.
Custom tuners on the Mazdaspeed platform can tune the car to perform and feel just about any way the owner wants. Boost onset, boost level, boost level per gear, engine idle speed and pedal feel all can be customized per the owner’s preference.
What are the adjustable parameters?
When utilizing the COBB Accessport or Versatune, just about every aspect of the driving experience can be customized.
At present, tuners have access to the necessary tables to customize idle speed, boost levels, drive-by-wire interpretation by the ECU, air fuel ratios, ignition, and variable valve timing… you name it, it likely can be altered from stock form.
Does it have an effect on your warranty/Hidden costs and drawbacks?
This is a fuzzy question in terms of the relationship to reliability and warranty. As discussed above, I’d argue that a well-tuned Mazdaspeed will be more reliable than one that is running the “canned” Mazda map due to the ability of the tuner to customize a map for driving style, altitude, etc., as well as fuel the car with a performance bias vs. fuel economy.
As far as the Mazda warranty is concerned, the tune is not usually the point of contention with Mazda, as most warranty rejection is due to installed hard parts (which can be uninstalled before dealer visits). In short, after returning the stock ROM onto the ecu, Cobb suggests that the Mazda techs can only tell the ecu has been reset if there are a limited number of miles put on the car since the last reflash.
If you are a Mazdaspeed enthusiast in search for more horsepower for your Mazdaspeed, a custom tune will provide excellent gains for your money. Having had many factory turbocharged cars before my Mazdaspeed3, I believe that a custom tune is one of the best bangs for your-buck modification that can be done from a performance-per-dollar standpoint.
I’m forever on msf, so if you have questions, feel free to pm me. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll do my best to help you find it.
We have been selling our popular Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 Eyelids to our Gen2 customers for some time now and in June received a product idea from customer Nick Miller to develop eyelids for his 2008 Mazdaspeed 3. With his idea in hand and the huge sales success of the gen2 eyelids, it only made sense that we should find a good option for our Gen 1 customers as well.
Made from ABS thermoplastic for increased strength and warp resistance, the CorkSport Gen 1 Hatchback Eyelids will give the Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 a more aggressive, sporty look. This simple to apply enhancement is sold as a pair with 3M backing tape for easy installation.
Our Gen 1 eyelids were specifically designed using a hatchback Mazdaspeed 3. During testing we found that will only work with the hatchback models due to the different headlights used on the sedan models.
As with most exterior styling products, we recommend test fitment prior to painting or finishing work and have found that some minor finishing work or trimming may be required to achieve the best results.
In addition to the installation instructions we include with purchase of this product, we have also included a “How-To” on painting your eyelids for the dedicated DIY’ers out there.
It all began over a year ago with a product submission from Todd Friar, a well-respected member of the Mazdaspeed3 community that you can often find contributing on the forums as Todd98se.
Based on his submission we began exploring manufacturability when we received a second product idea submission from Eric Poyer on 5/03/2011 that helped to confirm the viability of this product. With a second customer willing to participate in the development process we felt confident we could design a part that would be a sales success.
We collected their input on important features and target price and after a few weeks, we presented drawings to Eric and Todd for their consideration.
With their feedback in hand, we developed sample sets for test fitment.
We confirmed successful installation in our shop then got a sample sent out to Todd for further feedback. He even wrote up a fantastic installation process post on the Mazdaspeed forums.
Our initial design required cutting the strut tower, something we were well used to seeing having been in this business for so long. Eric however, was resistant to the idea of cutting his strut tower, something we then realized may be an issue for other customers as well, and a detail we may have missed had it not been for his involvement in the development process.
We knew we had to go back to the drawing board to remove the requirement to cut the strut tower and we also knew we needed to reassure people that cutting the strut tower would not compromise the integrity of the vehicle.
Using Solidworks, we did some force analysis testing that backed up what we already knew from experience and provided the data needed to show that it is possible to safely remove some material from the strut towers.
We also redesigned the camber plates to allow for installation without cutting the strut tower by recessing the bolts.
Other features we incorporated into the production version from Todd’s feedback are larger M10 studs which reduce camber variation during removal and reinstallation and longer studs to allow for improved fitment with strut tower bars.
The final product is a front camber kit that provides up to -3 degrees of negative camber with aftermarket coilovers and can be installed without any permanent modifications. Proper cutting of the strut tower allows for easy access camber tuning to dial in performance handling on and off the track.
Solid pillow ball bearings and housing reduce unwanted upper strut mount deflection and improve handling during racing and high performance driving.
Our camber kit can be used with aftermarket lowering springs and OEM springs for reduced upper strut mount deflection, however, negative camber is limited to 1.5 degrees due to spring interference. We will be revising the CorkSport lowering springs to allow for a wider range of camber adjustment and expect them to be out later in 2012.
Our knowledgebase is a repository for all sorts of information. For the camber plate development process, the interested reader can view each article we wrote during the development process for more details.
Todd and Eric were fantastic during the development process. This was one of the most work intensive products we have released to-date and we could not have done it without them! The CorkSport Mazdaspeed 3 Front Camber Kit is available for purchase from CorkSport.com for $359.00
Rich-
Product Release! CorkSport Mazdaspeed 3 Front Camber Kit September 13th, 2018CorkSport
